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Those Juniors, Part 2: Secret of Power


by Eric B. Hare

Last week: Although the secrets of the mind—how we think, reason, learn, and remember—are often taught in complicated, technical terminology, they can be taught simply, and provide a powerful tool to parents and teachers who are seeking to lead their juniors to Christ.

One afternoon a man found himself responsible for the care of his little six-year-old daughter. Trying to figure out a way to keep her busy while he enjoyed an hour of undisturbed quiet, he tore a picture of the map of the world from his paper, cut it into a number of odd-shaped pieces, and handed it to her, saying, “Here you are, my dear; see if you can put the world together again.”


With a smile of achievement on his face he settled into his comfortable chair, but in five minutes his little girl was back again, calling, “Daddy, come and see! I’ve got it all together again, Daddy!”

“Well, I declare,” exclaimed her astonished father. “Tell me how you managed to get the world together again so quickly.”

“Oh, that was easy,” exulted his little daughter. “I turned the pieces over, and on the other side I saw the picture of a man. So I just put the man together right, and when I got the man together right, the whole world was right.”

What a fundamental truth lies in these words! As parents, teachers, and junior leaders, let us keep this great fact in mind. We can never hope to make the world right till we make the man right. We can never make the man right till we make the boy right, and we can never make the boy right till we take time to study what a boy is made of, and what the powers and forces are that will mold him into a being of honor.

“All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth,” declared Christ when He said to His disciples, “Go ye therefore”;1 and we do well to remember that though we are responsible for the going, the teaching, and the baptizing, the power belongs only to Christ.

“There was but one hope for the human race—that into this mass of discordant and corrupting elements might be cast a new leaven; that there might be brought to mankind the power of a new life; that the knowledge of God might be restored to the world.”2   Christ came to supply this power.

“Wherever He went, the tidings of His mercy preceded Him. Where He had passed, the objects of His compassion were rejoicing in health, and making trial of their new-found powers. Crowds were collecting around them to hear from their lips the works that the Lord had wrought. His voice was the first sound that many had ever heard, His name the first word they had ever spoken, His face the first they had ever looked upon. Why should they not love Jesus, and sound His praise? As He passed through the towns and cities, He was like a vital current diffusing life and joy wherever He went.”3

In many ways Christ has sought to teach us our dependence on Him for this power. “As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.”4 And Mrs. E. G. White expressed it beautifully in these words:

“As the highest preparation for your work, I point you to the words, the life, the methods, of the Prince of teachers. I bid you consider Him. Here is your true ideal. Behold it, dwell upon it, until the Spirit of the divine Teacher shall take possession of your heart and life. ‘Reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord,’ you will be ‘transformed into the same image.’ This is the secret of power over your pupils. Reflect Him.”5

As we think back over the successes and failures of our lives, we know it is only too true. Power can only be felt in our lives when we take time to connect with the Source of power, and thus reflect Him in our lives.

It is said that a minister, while calling at the home of one of his church members, was met at the door by a little girl. “Is your mother home?” asked the minister.

“Well—but, are you sick?” hesitated the little one.

“Oh, no, I’m just the minister, and—”

“Well, are you hurt?” continued the little girl.

“No, no, my dear. You see, I’m—”

“Well, is anyone else sick, or anyone else hurt?” persisted the little six-year-old.

“No, no—I just—”

“Oh, well, then you can’t see mother, for she always prays from nine o’clock to ten o’clock, and unless someone is hurt or sick, she doesn’t come out.”

The minister looked at his watch. It was twenty minutes past nine, but he wanted more than ever to see and talk with that praying mother. “May I come in and wait?” he quietly asked.

“Oh, yes,” the little girl sweetly replied, as she showed him to a chair in the sitting room.

At ten o’clock the mother came into the room, her face radiant with the divine presence; and then the minister knew why that home was so bright, why two sons from that home had entered the theological seminary, and a daughter was in the mission field. In commenting on this experience, he said, “All hell can’t tear a boy or a girl away from a mother like that!”6 And I would like to add, nor from a teacher like that, nor from a leader like that. How easy it is to recognize it, and to prove it; so without further discussion let us write this large, as the first great fundamental principle of all junior evangelism: A knowledge of Christ is the source of power.

“This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.”7

(Next week: “Vital Knowledge.”)



1. Matthew 28:18, 19.
2. Education, page 76.
3. The Desire of Ages, page 350.
4. John 15:4.
5. Education, page 282.
6. “A Praying Mother,” Review and Herald, February 7, 1935.
7. John 17:3.

Copyright © 1973 by Eric B. Hare. Used by permission.

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